A GENERAL BATH -- RELIGIOUS PROCESSION -- THE GAME OF GOUX --
DINNER-PARTY IN A STABLE -- ETIQUETTE -- GRAM -- FRENCH LEAVE --
HOSTILITIES -- A PARLEY AND RECONCILIATION -- NATIVE BEER -- A
WHIRLWIND -- CULTIVATION -- ROADS -- FINE SCENERY -- A TALISMAN
-- A FIANCÉE -- CAPTURE OF A GUIDE -- ROBBERS AND THEIR
PUNISHMENT -- THE CROPS -- CAMP ON THE MAREB -- TOMATOS -- LIONS
-- A NARROW ESCAPE -- SPEAR THROWING.
_Jan. 18._--To-day, after breakfast, I overhauled most of my things,
guns, fishing-tackle, etc., and put them in good order. The old
soldier that Belata Keda Kedan had sent with us was much interested in
all he saw. I asked him if he would like to go to England. He replied,
"I would go to your country if you would give me lots of tej and
araké, and nothing to do." It was very amusing to see him admiring his
face in a little toy looking-glass that H. had given him. He was to
leave us here (Koudoofellassie), so we gave him a present of ten Maria
Theresa dollars, and he went his way rejoicing.
Borum Braswouldeselassie had come to see us before breakfast; he did
not stop long, as he said he had to go with his soldiers and
followers to attend the feast of Baptism. On this day all the
population of the town go down to the river and bathe; the priests
pray, and I believe bathe also. After we had taken breakfast Brou told
us that if we went a little way out of camp into the town we should
see the priests and procession returning from the river. We stood on
the top of a high mound, and very soon heard a most discordant braying
of horns in the distance. The procession now approached, the priests
bearing the sacred image of the Virgin, with a canopy held over it;
little boys were walking in front with incense. They were singing a
monotonous chant alternately, the women all taking it up at one time
and the men at another. Borum Braswouldeselassie and his horsemen were
in front of the procession, galloping about with their horses and
firing off their guns. The whole thing, except for the horsemen,
looked very much like a Roman Catholic procession. They marched past
us up to the church, and we saw them no more. K. said that on occasions
of this sort the Abyssinian horsemen play a game called _goux_, so I
begged of him to send a message to Borum Braswouldeselassie, asking
him to send some of his soldiers to play the game, in order that we
might see it. About three or four came out on a flat piece of ground,
which was the market-place, and commenced galloping their horses at
full speed and throwing their sticks at each other like spears,
receiving them on their shields. I believe there is a Turkish game,
called Jerrid, which is much the same thing. Their horses were
wretched specimens--thin, bony screws, that could not gallop as fast
as a person could kick his hat. I asked one of them if he would let me
get up and try the game. So one of my servants asked, "Will you lend
the Feringee your horse?" He said, "The Feringee! oh no," and
galloped away as hard as he could. When we had seen this, we
determined to go and pay a visit to Borum Braswouldeselassie. We found
him just about to sit down to his dinner, and he asked us to join him.
My readers must not imagine a table and chairs at this entertainment,
as the dinner was held in a stable; Borum Braswouldeselassie and his
family sitting on the ground. The first thing they began to eat was
some "tef"--a sort of spongy, sour bread, made in large thin cakes.
This they dipped into a paste of red pepper, and ate it with their
fingers. Borum Bras. had some very good "tej," of which we drank.
There was also some stewed meat, which was broken up in bits by the
servants with their fingers, and then the dish was given to the lady
of the house, who divided the portions equally and handed them to each
member of the family as well as to the guests. The enormous quantity
of bread and red pepper of the most pungent kind which Abyssinians
manage to get through is something extraordinary; they wash it down
with plenty of "tej," which is a capital thing to take away the fiery
heat the red pepper creates in the mouth. The correct thing to do at
an Abyssinian dinner is to take a large bit of bread or meat in your
hand and stuff it into your neighbour's mouth; this is considered the
acme of good manners; also, your first glass of "tej" is generally
handed to you by the master of the house.
In the evening H. and myself went out shooting, K. having told us that
there were some grouse in the low hills near camp, and I shot at a
young bird, but missed. The old cocks were calling just in the same
way they do on a Scotch moor--the same note, but not quite so strong.
I tried to approach some more, but it was very steep walking in some
places, and the birds were exceedingly wild.
_Jan. 19._--To-day was market-day at Koudoofellassie, and Brou and
myself, on our way to our next camp, stopped under the shade of a
small tree round which the market was held. The people were coming in
fast with honey and butter, corn of different sorts, sulphur for
making powder, etc. etc. The country folks directly they arrived
squatted down in a line. I tried to buy a jar of honey, but of course
they stuck on the price for the Feringee. About eleven A.M., or
perhaps a little before, I started with Brou for Adgousmou, the next
village we were to stop at. Goubasee, who was my gun-bearer, walked
the whole time in front of my mule; I stopped under a tree for about
fifteen minutes and then went on. This was a long march, and we were
going fast. Goubasee eventually turned out to be, as I had thought he
was, a wonderful walker, always in front of everybody in the longest
march, and never shirking any difficulty that came in his way; in
fact, he was a most faithful and useful servant, the only Abyssinian
among our crew whom I could really depend upon. The country we were
going through was table-land intersected by broad ravines.
My servants pointed me out two large trees in the distance; near these
they said was the village of Adgousmou. Abyssinian servants have quite
an original way of provisioning as they march along. If they pass any
cornfields, particularly the Indian _gram_, they run into the corn and
take as much as they want, not only for their own eating, but for
their master's mules. This is done regardless of the shouts and
imprecations of the boys who are sent out from the villages to watch
the corn, perched in some places on a high heap of stones, in others
on a rude platform supported on forked poles. This same _gram_, if the
pods when quite green are well-boiled, makes an excellent substitute
for peas. Before going up to the village of Adgousmou we crossed a
stream, where I shot a spurwing and a pigeon very like our common
wood-pigeon, only not quite so large. I killed these birds in case H.
should not turn up after my arrival with the tents, provisions, etc. I
then rode into the village and asked for the chicker. He soon came,
and was a fine-looking old man. I asked him for some bread for my
servants; he said he had none--a reply that was plainly untrue. He
then sent for a bowl of sour milk, which was very nasty. I gave it to
Goubasee, who soon polished it off and seemed to enjoy it immensely.
The old chicker and I sat in silence for some little time enjoying the
view, at least I did, and at length I arose and went away, as I saw no
prospect of getting anything out of the old niggard. I settled the
camp should be near some trees outside the village; a ruined village
also, probably the old village of Adgousmou, was close by. I made the
servants light a fire, and I sat down to consider; but I soon began to
feel very hungry. What was to be done? I had nothing to eat, when I
suddenly bethought myself of my two birds. But how to cook them? I
adopted the old poacher's plan of spitting them on the ramrod of my
rifle, and made Mahomed, the Massowah boy, roast me some corn I had
taken with me for my mule. With these victuals I made a tolerably
fair lunch, washed down with water--_fames optimum condimentum_, as
the Latin grammar says. It was getting late in the day and I was
becoming bored, so I said to Brou, who had been loitering behind on
the road and had not long come up, "We had better go to the village to
forage, as perhaps there has been a difficulty about getting our
baggage carried on from Koudoofellassie, and the things will not come
up to-night." He answered, "Very well." So we all started to the
village.
I went up to the old chicker's house and asked for bread, or, in fact,
anything that he had. His wife--who was as big a liar as himself--told
me that she had nothing. So I went straight in and took a large jug of
beer and a jar of honey, gave them to my servants to carry, and walked
back towards our future camping-place. The old lady now began to yell,
and the other women of the village joined in chorus. The men in the
village all turned out with spears, shields, guns, sticks, etc., and
surrounded us, making a horrid noise. They managed to get the beer
away from us, but we stuck to the honey, and one of the servants and
myself brought it to the tree where I had been sitting. The natives
continued yelling, and Brou tried to pacify them. Some of the young
fellows said, "We will die! we will die! but you shall not keep the
honey"--Brou having told them I would shoot if they tried to molest
me. The noise went on, and I thought it was likely to get serious,
when suddenly there was a lull, and a priest stepped out from the
crowd and requested a parley with me. I went up to him, and he made me
a bow and said something in Amharic, which it is needless to say I did
not understand. The Abyssinians are Coptic Christians, and I thought I
would try him with a text from the Bible; so I said, "I asked for
bread, and they gave me a stone." I never before saw a man's face
change so completely; Brou had interpreted the sentence exactly. The
priest then said, "You speak like a king; these people are only dirt
in comparison with you," etc. Well, it all ended by my keeping the
honey, and the villagers returning to their houses. We made up a good
fire. Brou produced some bread, which I ate with the honey; it was
excellent--stolen fruit is always the sweetest. I piled the arms near
the fire, rolled myself up in a _shama_ of Brou's, and lay down on a
sheepskin to go to sleep. I had almost dozed off when H. arrived with
all the baggage. The reason he was so late was that the men at
Koudoofellassie demanded exorbitant prices. We have now twenty coolies
and three donkeys to carry into Adiaboo. K. made this arrangement: so
we shall have no more trouble for some little time. Borum Bras.
brought with him a man chained to one of his soldiers; this
individual, who was, I believe, a murderer, was going to the king to
be tried. The law in Abyssinia is the old Mosaic one--"an eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
_Jan. 20._--We started about half-past nine in the morning,
accompanied by Borum Bras., the chief, and all his followers. He was
to go with us as far as the boundary of his province, and there leave
us. He rode a very fine mule, with his horse led in front of him. The
mule turned out to be a fencer; Borum Bras. popping over a thorn hedge
in very good form as we went along. We stopped for a short rest at
Adwahla, a village, and Borum Bras. made his followers bring us some
beer, which is made from the Dargousa grain. I thought it very nasty,
but my servants soon drank it all. I saw a rather curious phenomenon
here: there was a sudden rush of wind, then in a moment we were
enveloped in a cloud of dust. It was one of those whirlwinds which
very often occur in the East, especially on broad plains. There is not
a breath of wind stirring, but, all of a sudden, you see a little curl
of dust coming towards you; and it gets larger and larger as it
proceeds. All the dust of the village was carried up in a column
towards the skies. One of Borum Bras.'s servants, on seeing this,
immediately covered me up in the cotton cloth he was wearing; and I
scarcely know which was worse, the smell of the Abyssinian's garment
or that of the dust.
All the country we had been travelling through was highly cultivated,
and the ballagas were, as far as I could see, breaking up fresh land
every day for sowing; in fact, I should say that the whole province of
Tigré was in a very prosperous condition. It is a great pity such a
country as this, which to all intents and purposes is close to Europe,
should not be made use of in some way or other. Cotton would grow in
most parts with great luxuriance; it is grown in the province of
Walkait, and brought into the rest of Abyssinia by large caravans, who
exchange it for grain, salt, etc. In the valleys among the hills I
believe all sorts of things would grow, and in a short time I hope to
send out seeds of all the English vegetables, to make a trial of them
at Gindar. There is one plant which would return very high profits to
the growers, and that is _cinchona_, for quinine. Where plenty of
water is to be had I am sure this plant would do well. Of course the
great drawback to all commerce in Abyssinia is the badness of the
roads; in fact, there are no roads, merely paths across the
table-lands, and as a rule among the hills the roads follow the dry
watercourses.
When Borum Bras. and his servants had had enough beer we started
again. He accompanied us to the verge of this large table-land we had
been going over, and seemed very particular about the exact boundary
of his province and the spot where to leave us. We got off our mules
and said, "Good-bye," shaking hands with him. He wished us a pleasant
journey and abundant sport; and so we parted with the most civil
Abyssinian I had yet met. The ground fell very suddenly here, and we
began to descend a rocky road. If I could only make the reader
appreciate the beautiful scenery that now lay spread before us! but I
am afraid that words would convey but a poor idea of its grandeur and
beauty; so we must continue on our road. Some parts of the descent
were so steep that I had to get off my mule and walk. We had
thoughtlessly omitted to bring cruppers for our saddles, so we often
found ourselves nearly astride of the mule's head instead of his back;
the only way to remedy this was to get off and shift the saddle, which
was tiresome work. K. told me that this was a fearful hill to ascend
during the rains, the mules slipping about and tumbling down. We got
to our camping-place about two hours before sunset--a pretty spot with
plenty of grass, and the water came from deep pools close by. I took
my gun and went for a stroll but saw nothing, and I only heard an old
cock grouse calling. H. had gone in an opposite direction, but he too
had seen nothing to provide sport.
_Jan. 21._--This morning we had time to look about us before starting;
the township of Gundet lay scattered over the little hills which rose
out of this valley. I resolved to go up to the village and procure a
goat and some bread. K. had provided us with a document which was
stamped with the king's seal; this, when the Abyssinians saw it, had
the effect of making them give what was wanted. The king seldom if
ever gives his seal to any one; and the seal itself, from which the
impression is taken, is carried about hung round the neck of one of
his page boys. I started with Goubasee and Brou for one of the cluster
of huts I saw on the top of the hill; the servants said it was there
the chief of the village resided. The ascent was steep, but we caught
the old gentleman sitting outside his house basking in the morning
sun; no doubt he would have bolted if he had had any intimation of our
coming. We said, "How d'ye do?" and then I showed him the king's seal,
and said we wanted a young fat goat, of which there are large herds
here. The cattle of Gundet are also very fine. He said if we would
come into his house he would talk about it. Well-to-do Abyssinians
always have a large round hut set apart for the reception of visitors.
His son produced some "tej," which was very good, and turning round
to his father just before pouring it out he said laughingly, "I don't
know whether we ought to be drinking this tej, which is made for my
marriage feast." I asked him if his future wife was pretty; he said,
"Oh, yes, and she has plenty of cattle." This is the usual dowry in
Abyssinia, especially among the ballagas; so my readers will see that
people in that country marry for a fortune as much as ours do at home.
H. and K. now came up to the house. The fat goat was brought and given
to one of the servants to drive before him; and we started for the
Mareb, where we were going to stay a little time to shoot. There was a
difficulty about finding our way, so we took a guide from one of the
villages as we passed. This man did not seem to understand where we
wanted to go to, and took us to another village, rather out of our
road. Here we had a dispute, as a man from this village refused to go
with us as guide; we tied him by his _shama_ to our first guide, and
sent them on in front of our mules. All the women and some of the men
in the village remonstrated and made a great noise, chattering and
yelling to the top of their voices; when I ran in among them and
pushed them right and left. This effectually stopped the noise, and we
continued our journey in peace, while K. was much amused at my
proceedings.
We passed by Aila Mareb, a village on the side of the hill. This is
the last village before entering the desert, as the Abyssinians call
all wild jungle; that is to say, parts of the country that are not
inhabited. On the right of the path we were travelling along rose a
large hill, with a table-land at the top. The peculiar shape of it
struck me very much; as another ridge rose on the table-land, it
looked in the distance like a vast breastwork. This hill overlooks a
large jungled plain through which the Mareb runs--celebrated at one
time as the abode of a noted "shifter," or robber, who defied the
king's troops for some time and used to ravage the villages lying near
the plain. He was caught at last; and the king said he would not kill
him, as it was a pity to send him out of the world without giving him
time to repent. So his eyes were put out with a hot iron, and he was
allowed to live among his family and friends. This is a good instance
of Abyssinian subtlety and cruelty.
Our road now lay through thick jungle, and in some parts high grass.
The hills soon ceased, and we found ourselves in the valley of the
Mareb. All of a sudden, on emerging from the thick jungle, we came on
a fallow field; the crop had been reaped, and was stacked close by.
The ballagas living near the valley of the Mareb very often sow crops
after the rains, as the soil by the side of the river is very fertile
indeed. This crop is watched by small boys of the village, to protect
it from birds, deer, elephants, etc., but in many cases the best part
of it is destroyed. The crop, or rather crops--for sometimes they reap
two or three--are so heavy that it does not greatly matter if a little
is eaten. The dry bed of the Mareb was at the bottom of this field,
and thick, impenetrable jungle rose up on all sides, so we agreed to
camp in the open field by the bank of the river.
I said the river was dry; by this I mean that the water runs under the
sand, and is got at by making a hole, when it gradually filters
through. The water is excellent for drinking, and deliciously cool. I
ordered my servants to make a large hole in the sand, and the water
here I arranged should be kept apart for our own drinking; no one was
either to wash in it or foul it in any way. It is a very good plan
when near a stream to make your servants do all their washing, etc.,
down the stream, so as to keep the water as pure as possible for your
own drinking. The time we spent on the Mareb I shall always look back
to with great pleasure. Our little camp was very conveniently fixed.
The jungle here teemed with all sorts of most beautiful birds,
including partridges and guinea-fowl in abundance. The little
sandgrouse used to come in flocks every evening to drink from the
scattered pools along the river-bed. The jungle also gave us most
delicious wild tomatos, and as it was the dry season it had up to this
time been almost impossible to procure any green vegetables, except
the _gram_ before mentioned. These tomatos were very acceptable, they
were the sweetest I ever ate, far better in flavour than our own
cultivated ones; we used to make excellent salads with them, and also
get them stewed. I had felt the want of green vegetables very much,
and I am persuaded that, in a hot country, eating largely of
provisions preserved in tins is not at all good.
The ballaga to whom the field belonged in which we were camped said a
lion used frequently to come and bask in the sun and look at him while
he was at his work, not taking the smallest notice. There must have
been some of these animals about, as we used to see fresh tracks
almost every day; but, alas! not one single one did we catch sight of
the whole time; and as all sportsmen know who have been in Africa,
there is no animal so hard to discover or get near when seen. The lion
is scarcely the noble beast which is seen represented in pictures, or
read of in nursery books and fables; on the contrary, he feeds on
carrion when he can get it, and sneaks away at the approach of man.
The tiger in India is a much finer animal. In the evening I went a few
hundred yards out of camp down the river, and shot an old cock
guinea-fowl and a brace of small sandgrouse. These latter were most
lovely little birds, and Fisk preserved one for H.'s collection.
[Illustration: NARROW ESCAPE OF GOUBASEE.
To face page 91.]
_Jan. 22._--I find, according to my journal, that the events of this
day were most unlucky. I went up the river with Goubasee and the
elephant-hunter that Brou had with him as a sort of servant. I only
saw a deer cross the dry bed of the river in front of me, but out of
shot. I had gone up some little way, and was resting, sitting on some
large granite rocks. The force of the water during the rains must be
tremendous, as these rocks were scooped and hollowed out as if by the
hand of man. A large pool of water was just below me; the hot weather
had not yet dried it up, and the basin of rock prevented it filtering
away through the sand. My rifle lay close by me, and wishing to put it
at half-cock, I touched the trigger without taking it up. By mistake I
fingered the wrong one: it went off, and as nearly as possible shot
Goubasee, who was reclining close beside me. He took it very well, and
the elephant-hunter only laughed, and made a movement as if digging in
the sand with his stick; meaning, if the ball had hit him it would
have been all up with poor Goubasee, and we should have had to bury
him. I got up very much disgusted with myself, and walked over the
rocks on the way back to camp, but on the way I slipped and fell,
denting both the barrels of my little 16-bore. "It seldom rains but it
pours:" these two accidents occurred in the space of about five
minutes. The gun was rendered quite useless by this accident; so I
returned home dejected, and on the way I amused myself by throwing a
spear at a mark on a tree. The two Abyssinians who were with me made
very good practice. It is extraordinary how hard it is to make sure of
hitting anything with this weapon, though the mode of throwing it is
simple enough. The spear is held in the right hand, not over the head,
but about in a line with the shoulder; lightly balancing it one takes
three steps, starting with the left foot, and delivers the spear as
the right foot comes to the ground. King Theodore was a celebrated
spear thrower; it is said he could make sure of a man at thirty yards
or more. On my way home I was puzzling in my mind how to get the
dented barrels of my little gun straight again. I had some hardened
bullets with me for my rifle, which fitted this gun exactly, and I
thought if one of these bullets was introduced into the barrel and
gently and gradually tapped with one of our wooden tent-mallets it
might straighten it. When I got to camp I told Fisk what I thought of
it; he said he would try, and being a very handy fellow and
understanding guns well, the experiment proved a complete success,
and the gun shot just as well as it did before. Of course the dents
were not completely obliterated, but sufficiently for all practical
purposes. I must not forget to say the barrels had been injured about
half-way down from the muzzle.